This Electric Car Got 400 Miles On A Charge

Model S Owner Tops 423 Miles on a Single Charge

David Metcalf and his son Adam are the first to drive a Tesla Model S more than 400 miles on a single charge.

A University of Central Florida researcher and his 12-year old son have become the first ever to pilot a production electric vehicle over the 400-mile mark on a single charge. David Metcalf and his son Adam achieved the feat this weekend after a 423.5-mile journey through Florida lasting nearly 17 hours.

The duo started out in Merritt Beach, driving their way down I-95 through the night, before crossing west through the Florida Panther Preserve and Alligator Alley and rounding up back north toward Lake Okeechobee. Metcalf preserved maximum charge by averaging a not-so-brisk pace of less than 25 mph—though one might argue that the beauty of the Everglades is worth slowing down for regardless of any world record attempts.

Back in May, Tesla CEO Elon Musk issued a challenge to early Model S owners to become the first push the car beyond the 400-mile mark. According to Musk, no one from the Tesla team had yet even attempted the feat, and there would be an unspecified prize awaiting the first owner to do so. Metcalf took up the challenge in the name of the University of Central Florida’s Haitian relief efforts, encouraging those following his record-setting attempt on Twitter to text a donation in support of the cause.

The Metcalfs travelled 423.5 mile over almost 17 hours.

According to Metcalf, he and his son weren’t the first to attempt the challenge but had a geographical advantage in choosing Florida for their push. “Others have tried the challenge in different parts of the country, but hills and other factors have made it difficult,” he said in UCF press release trumpeting the effort. “Florida is flat, which worked to our advantage.”

Guinness World Records is currently working to verify the accomplishment, which surpasses a previous record set in 2009 by an Aussie duo who piloted a 2008 Roadster 313 miles through central Australia.

While 400 miles in a Model S is far from attainable under normal driving conditions, the EPA last weekannounced official range for the 60-kWh edition of the car at 208 miles, meaning that for the first time, drivers will be able to achieve more than 200 miles in an electric vehicle starting at just over $60,000 MSRP.